The following includes information that may be useful in understanding the present invention(s). It is not an admission that any of the information provided herein is prior art, or material, to the presently described or claimed inventions, or that any publication or document that is specifically or implicitly referenced is prior art.
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to the field of food preparation and more specifically relates to a combination food smoker and griller.
2. Description of the Related Art
Since the early history of most civilizations and cultures, open fire and fire oven cooking of meats has been practiced as a matter of necessity. Curing and dehydration of meats using constant low heat and salts has also been used since ancient times and is still in use today. Another common method of meat cooking and/or meat preservation is smoking. Meat smoking infuses the meat with the smell of the burning wood and when coupled with the flavors of the cooking meat juices, it creates an irresistible flavor for most people.
Since the time that foods were commonly cooked over open fires, many advances in technology have taken place. Utilities including propane and natural gas are now piped underground to nearly every home. Modern appliances have created conveniences and time savings for members of most societies. Fire codes as well as limited time in busy modern cultures have gradually moved most cooking indoors. A favorite pastime after a busy work-week is for a family to move out to the back yard to grill steaks, hotdogs, and hamburgers on the barbecue grill. A barbecue grill is a device for cooking food by applying heat directly from below, usually with an open flame. The heat in barbecue grills is difficult to control, and as such, requires sufficient skill and constant oversight in making perfect steaks or hamburgers.
There are several varieties of such grills, with most falling into one of two categories: gas-fueled and charcoal. There is a great debate over the merits of charcoal vs. gas for use as the cooking method between barbecue grillers, however, nearly all agree that the open flame produces flavor that an oven or frying pan cannot reproduce. Smoked meat is generally more expensive than non-smoked meat when purchasing it at a grocery store. Adding damp wood to burning charcoal seems to give the meat a weak smoke flavor but the meat is not truly smoked, and consumers are reluctant to purchase expensive home smokers for occasional use. Meat that has been completely cooked with smoke is arguably much more flavorful because of the stronger smoke flavor, but also has the added health advantage of not having directly contacted the flame.
Because of the lack of control over the heat in barbecues, carbon is almost always present in grilled meat when grilling in the back yard. Commercial smokers are large and heavy but produce very satisfactory flavor as well as cooked meat that is free from carcinogens. Smaller home-use smokers are still generally too large to be very portable as well as being too small to prevent the flame from directly contacting the meat; an undesirable condition. Small charcoal smokers are not known to produce very good results, mainly because of their close resemblance to the design of ordinary barbecue grills. A solution to these problems is needed.
Various attempts have been made to solve the above-mentioned problems such as those found in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,495,860; 4,512,249; 5,425,352; 3,776,127; 4,020,322; and 3,333,526. This prior art is representative of food smoker/grillers. None of the above inventions and patents, taken either singly or in combination, is seen to describe the invention as claimed.
Ideally, a combination food smoker and griller should be portable as well as prevent direct flame contact with the food cooked thereon, and yet, would operate reliably and be manufactured at a modest expense. Thus, a need exists for a reliable combination food smoker and grill system to provide portability and prevent carbonizing of the meat to avoid the above-mentioned problems.